AN EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL STUDY OF WAVE MIXING IN A BOUNDED MAGNETOPLASMA,
Abstract
Generation of space-charge waves at UHF frequencies by the nonlinear interaction of two microwave signals in a magnetoplasma is described. The experiment was performed using a neon after-glow (p = .02 torr), which formed a post in a square x-band waveguide. The results of the experiment agree quantitatively with a calculation of the interaction which accounts for its finite geometry. The nonlinear coupling is found to result from a Lorentz force interaction between the electron velocity induced by one incident wave and the time varying magnetic field of the other. A similar calculation and experiment were performed in which one microwave was scattered from a driven space-charge wave. It is shown that the results of the two first order interactions can be combined to give a realistic prediction of second order processes such as 'optical mixing', and parametric excitation. The nonlinear calculation used to describe these experiments is a special case of a general coupling principle developed here for calculating nonlinear wave interactions in finite anisotropic plasmas. As another example, the coupling principle is utilized to derive coupled-mode equations for a nonlinear magnetoplasma waveguide. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0681121
Entities
People
- Lawrence Kuhn
Organizations
- Columbia University